Life

The Monday Round-Up: A Kona Preview in Frankfurt?

Jan Frodeno and Daniela Ryf do it again, pro race recaps from Ecuador and Sweden, and another new race for Asia.

Weekend at a Glance

IRONMAN European Championship, Frankfurt

Frodeno and Ryf go epic in Frankfurt

Both the men’s and the women’s competitions at the 2018 Mainova IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt delivered even more than the dramatic racing predicted. On the men’s front, Jan Frodeno took the win again after 2015, showing he's ready for the IRONMAN World Championship in just a few months. The 36-year-old took the race into his hands and fulfilled his goal.

As imagined, Australia’s Josh Amberger proved his outstanding talent in the Lake Langener Waldsee, opening up a slightly larger lead than Frodeno might have expected before. While Amberger came out of the water after a great solo, Frodeno was working hard at the front of the chase group to keep the distance to first place in check. The Frodeno group included the most important co-favorites, but Amberger didn’t care—even onto the bike where he increased his advantage with no one willing to attack.

On the second lap, things became more efficient in the chase group due to Frodeno and Patrick Lange’s initiative. Everyone was focusing on a huge run battle, but Frodeno pushed the button early. With about 10 kilometers to go on the 185 kilometer long bike course, the 2015 and 2016 IRONMAN world champ hammered to the top of the famous Heartbreak Hill, opening up a gap and closing in on Amberger. When he got off the bike only 20 seconds behind the Aussie leader, it was clear Frodeno was on a mission. He stormed onto the marathon course where he nailed a solid run pace from start to finish. He ran a first half of 1:18 and eventually finished the run in a record time of 2:39:06. Lange remained in second, working hard to downsize the gap. But he had to pay for this hunt and the tough bike ride on the final kilometers. Frodeno ran to the win, and Lange ultimately lost the battle for second to Swede Patrik Nilsson.

Swiss Daniela Ryf had nothing to fear on the run. When she started the marathon, different questions had to be answered in Frankfurt: Can she sustain this gutsy performance to the end? Is this the best Daniela Ryf we've ever seen, or the best performance in the history of IRONMAN? Less than 3 hours later, the answer was clear: The three-time IRONMAN world champion put on one of the best performances of her career to date. She set a bike record of 4:40:55 (despite a course that was 5k longer due to construction) on top of outstanding performances both in the swim and run.

There were other world-class athletes in the mix such as defending champion Sarah Crowley (AUS), Sarah True (USA) and Anne Haug from Germany. But this trio was, to Ryf's advantage, out of the title game early. They got dropped tremendously when the 31-year-old hit the gas early on the bike. Ryf came off the bike with a lead of more than 27 minutes, focused and ready to go for it on the marathon, too. It was a tough, hot battle alongside the Main river, but Ryf had a perfect day. A new course record by almost 10 minutes highlighted a historic race for Ryf. The brilliant IRONMAN debut of Sarah True put her in runner-up position, and a strong defending champion finished third.

IRONMAN 70.3 Ecuador

Brandon and Amorelli make it look easy in Ecuador

Brazil's Igor Amorelli was near or at the front of the race throughout the entire swim and bike legs in Ecuador. A late push in the closing k's of the bike rewarded Amorelli a minute gap to Aussie Tim Rea.

Once on the run, Amorelli appeared to have the race in control. Rea managed to match the leaders pace for the first half of the run, however Amorelli opened the gap to over three minutes to claim the win.

How much difference a year has made for Amorelli. Last year at this time he was returning from surgery and had to race two summer IRONMAN races in order to earn starting spot in Kona. This year, with a solid placing in the Kona Pro Rankings, he has been able head into his Kona build-up in much better shape.

In the women's race, Lauren Brandon (USA) put on a clinic on the swim and run in her wire-to-wire win in Manta. The American started the run with a race-leading gap of eight minutes and was untouchable on the run, leaving the remainder of the field to fight it out for second and third.

IRONMAN 70.3 Jönköping

Angert and Norden nail Jonkoping

While the world of IRONMAN took a deep breath watching the stunning performances at the Mainova IRONMAN European championship Frankfurt, the beautiful IRONMAN 70.3 Jonkoping put on a great race, too. The men’s battle turned out to be a head-to-head race from the swim start to the finish line, thanks to a battle between Germany’s Florian Angert and Pieter Heemeryck from Belgium. The two came out of the water within one second of each other, and raced shoulder-to-shoulder all day long. Angert hit T2 a few meters in front of his Belgian colleague, only to watch Heemeryck storm onto the run course first. The whole run followed suit. At the end, Angert put everything together for a final attack. The 26-year-old gave all he could to out-sprint Heemeryck, celebrating his first IRONMAN 70.3 victory before the Belgian crossed the finish line only 19 seconds later. Australia’s Max Neumann took third place.

The fight for the lead was extremely close in the women’s race as well. Swedish co-favorite Lisa Norden led the field out of the water, but without the expected gap behind the outstanding swimmer. The group was close together when the leader embarked on the bike course. Norden looked relaxed, pacing herself well while last week’s IRONMAN 70.3 Finland champion Kimberley Morrison (GBR) worked hard to open up a gap on the Swede over the final kilometers. This plan was successful, but Morrison couldn’t stay the steady pace of Norden on the run.

On the Mend: Terenzo Bozzone

New Zealand IRONMAN star Terenzo Bozzone is in stable condition in Auckland City Hospital after being seriously injured when he was hit by a truck while training last week. Bozzone, out training at the start of his build-up to the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii, was hit while riding on a favored training route to the west of Auckland, with the truck driver apparently not stopping.

A witness said the bike was in two pieces, with Terenzo’s father, who usually follows his son on long rides, first on the scene.

Police are making inquiries and have called for public information about the incident.

Bozzone, who has been in stunning form since his race record IRONMAN wins in Western Australia and New Zealand, was recently third in the IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship in Cairns. He was planning to spent a training block on Australia’s Sunshine Coast before three races leading up to Hawaii.

The Buzz: What We're Reading, Gossiping About, and Loving in the Endurance Sports World

All the feels

Need some Monday inspiration? Triathlete.com has announced their 2018 Photo Contest winners, and they are guaranteed to make you fall in love with triathlon all over again. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but we can relate to the shear emotion on the face of age-grouper Elvira Hall as she exits her first open-water swim.

More Cowbell

Starting with IRONMAN France June 24, IRONMAN launched live coverage of 16 races through a partnership with Facebook Watch. We’ve loved getting a sneak peak of courses and spectators; it’s like QVC for our 2019 race calendar. Next up, IRONMAN UK, winner of the 2016 Athletes' Choice Awards for Best Overall Bike. We’re looking forward to hearing all the cowbells on the epic Sheep House Lane climb, where spectators get up close and personal with the athletes, Tour de France style.

"Believe in yourself and work forward."

Like most of us, IRONMAN 70.3 finisher and double amputee Sidney Smith is out the door at 5 am every morning to train for an IRONMAN. Smith was born with a degenerative nerve disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth, which progressively damaged his feet and ankles. In 2015, Smith made the difficult decision to amputate his lower legs and switch to prosthetics, which would give him a better chance at an active lifestyle and allow him to continue to provide for his growing family (Smith is the father of four and general manager of the Vernal, Utah Holiday Inn Express).

Instagram of the Week

IRONMAN Announces a New Event Thailand

The 2019 Toyota IRONMAN 70.3 Bangsaen presented by MAMA, will join the IRONMAN Asia calendar. The inaugural race will take place in Bangsaen, Thailand on Sunday, February 24, 2019.

Bangsaen is 75km (roughly 45-miles) Southeast of Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, and is easily accessible as it is only an hour drive away from Suvarnabhumi International Airport. An ideal location for an IRONMAN 70.3 event, Bangsaen is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand with a beautiful sandy beach stretching for 2.5km.